The SEVESEO project intends to apply space-based observations together with geo-spatial techniques to the management of industrial risk and technological accidents, in relation to the Seveso-II directive of the European Union.

The control of major-accident hazards involving dangerous substances is regulated by the EU Council Directives 96/82/EC and 2003/105/EC. The Seveso-II Directive applies to thousands of industrial establishments in Europe where dangerous substances are present in quantities exceeding thresholds set in the directive.

Civil Protection authorities and industrial establishments, faced with an industrial or a technological risk, are required to have a firm control of all the parameters involved. In that perspective, decision-making instruments are essential tools to help all stakeholders concerned by an industrial accident with the means to make the right decisions likely to anticipate catastrophic events and to plan the best actions to mitigate their impact.

The development of the SEVESEO Information System implies the integration of propagation models (marine, ground water, soil, air) to determine the environmental impact of a Seveso accident, by modelling the dispersion of pollutants around the site.

The SEVESEO Information System will be demonstrated and qualified on a number of Seveso-II sites located in five countries: Belgium, Luxembourg, France, Germany and the Netherlands. Various risk scenarios will be modelled, including the most disastrous cases. The project will also deliver the SEVESEO Information System to five user premises.